Pak junior team wins Australian national hockey title

LAHORE, April 29 (APP): Pakistan junior hockey team created history by winning the title of Australian junior hockey championship with a hard fought 3-2 win over New South Wales State in the final on Saturday at Hobart, Tasmania.
Pak juniors put up a sterling show of skills and technique to end their first ever appearance in the Australian hockey championship on a memorable note, said the information made available here to APP.
With this success the green shirts wrote a new chapter in the national hockey by winning a domestic title on a foreign soil.
Pak junior shattered the hopes of New South Wales which was the only unbeaten team of the ten team event.
With the title success Pak junior took the sweet avenge of losing their only pool match of the event to New South Wales.
Pakistanis played according to a plan right from the start. They went ahead in the 13th minute through a field goal by Naveed Alam who ended up the tournament as Pakistan’s top scorer with five goals.
It did not take long for the Pakistani colts to extend the lead. In the 24th minute, Ahmed Nadeem gave the final touch to a penalty corner.The green shirts led 2-0 at half time.
After resumption, Pakistani youngsters continued searching for the target and were rewarded in the 44th minute. The Sahiwal boy Ahmed Nadeem had his second of the evening this time via open play.
Down by three goals, New South Wales didn’t give up. Within four minutes, they were awarded a penalty stroke and their most prolific scorer Ehren Hazell cashed in on it.
It stayed 1-3 with just five minutes to go. In the 65th minute, Daine Richards caused a stir when he converted a penalty corner to reduce Pakistan’s lead to a bare minimum.
However, New South Wales couldn’t get the equaliser. Pakistanis were the deserving winners of the tournament where they had to play as many as eight matches; won seven and lost one.